


Red Sky

by SundayZenith



Series: Fictober 2019 [6]
Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Angst, But everything is on fire here and its awful, Fictober 2019, Fires, Gen, Had to externalize this, I know Duckburg is only partially based on Cali, I walked my dog earlier and I couldn't breathe, I wrote this in like two hours so forgive any mistakes, Mainly focused on Donald and Della, ask to tag, figured I'd knock out days 9-11 while I was doing this, headcanons, partially vent fic, some not great Spanish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-09 15:56:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20997449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SundayZenith/pseuds/SundayZenith
Summary: (Fictober days nine to eleven)Calisota is burning.





	Red Sky

**Author's Note:**

> Fictober day nine- "There is a certain taste to it.”  
Day Ten- “Listen, I can’t explain it, you’ll have to trust me.”  
Day Eleven- “It’s not always like this.”

Neither of them could sleep, it seemed. At some point in the night, Donald had given up tossing and turning fruitlessly in his hammock and had made his way to the deck of his boat to see Della making her way across the lawn to the pool where his boat was. She hadn’t seemed surprised to see him awake and, honestly, he hadn’t been surprised to see her either.

At this point, everyone in the Duck-McDuck family could tell you with confidence that “twin telepathy” was bogus, but you didn’t have to be a telepath to just  _ connect _ with someone on a deep level, to the point that their mind might as well have been connected to your own.

Della and Donald had sat together in the boat’s kitchen, looking over baby photos of the boys for hours, not exactly crying, but also  _ not _ not crying. As dawn neared, their conversation had died, the air heavy with emotion- joy, regret, sorrow, delight, and of all things, humor.

They were chuckling at themselves, “When did this happen? When did we become _ adults _ ?”

Soon, their chuckled became full blown, somewhat painful laughter.

“Can-can you believe this?” Della weezed, “Th-this is like all those times at Clan McDuck castle! I actually feel like, if I don’t pinch someone’s cheeks right now, I might explode-  _ actually _ explode!”

“All we need is some cursed bricks and a bigger table! Remember that time Scrooge tried to help grandma with the cooking?” His eyes were watering again.

“The entire place was full of smoke!” Della threw an arm over his shoulder and leaned against him, wiping a tear from her own eye. “I swear, it _ still  _ smelled like smoke five years later!”

“I can practically smell it now! Shoot, I can practically  _ taste _ it in the air now!”

The air was heavy with memory.

And slightly hazy, they both realized at the same moment, sharing a look, mirth completely forgotten.

“... _ There is a certain taste to it _ ,” Dell said slowly, “Almost like….”

Their shared look turned to one of horror, and at the same moment, they shouted,  _ “Fire!” _

They scrambled out of their seats, knocking against the table and nearly tripping over the chairs. Della frantically tried to collect the picture, only to push them onto the floor.

“Leave them!” Donald called, running through the rooms, giving each a quick check before sprinting up the stairs to the deck, “I have digital copies and copies in a safe. Get the fire extinguisher, I’ll check the-” He hadn’t bothered to close the door when he let Della in earlier, running through it before skidding to a halt and staring at what he saw outside. “...Engine,” he finished lamely.

The sky was an angry blood red, redder than it had been when Magica’s shadow army attacked. The sun was a blazing orange disk at the horizon, and the air seemed almost visible. It burned to look at.

_ Red sky in the morning _ , he thought to himself,  _ sailor take warning. _

“I can’t find it,” Della said frantically from behind him. “Donald, I can’t find your fire ex-” 

Evidentially, the sight before them had left her speechless as well.

Blinking, Donald said from what felt like a distance, “...I keep one in every room. The one in the kitchen is under the sink.”

“Oh. Okay.” Della’s voice sounded strangely tight.

The wind ruffled their feathers then, blowing ashes into their eyes. It had been windy for about a week now, Donald remembered, but it hadn’t really started to blow until the day before. It had been the kind of painful wind that could blow you off your feet, sting you and cause all kinds of accidents and ear infections. It came for a short while every year and it always made Calisota unbearable for those reasons.

Well, those reasons and another.

Donald was throwing open the door to the manor before he realized his legs had been moving. He inhaled painfully and at the top of his burning lugs, he cried, “ _ Calisota is burning! _ ” 

\--

They had all gathered in the living room, everyone in the manor, nearly all of them still in their pajamas.

On the television before them, Roxanne Featherly and Webra Walters spoke over footage of fire raging through neighborhoods and forests. 

Louie had been reading aloud stories on social media tonelessly stories of people who had had their power cut off suddenly and without warning to prevent this, only to be them caught without charged phones, medical supplies, food, or in some cases ways to be warned about the fires before it was too late. Wordlessly, Della had taken the phone from his hands, turned it off, and pulled him against her. In the background, Scrooge was on the phone with what might have been his board of directors, sayingg, “We do this every year, it seems. I donae care, the sooner we start trying to put them out, the less this will cost us all in the long run. Yes, I’ve calculated this myself. Repeatedly, and I’ve had several of my scientists and accountants look over the numbers as well!”

Della stood suddenly. “I can help put it out. I’ll, I dunno- I’ll take the Cloudslayer and- the fire department can supply me with water or whatever. Or-or I can get it from the Marina.”

Launchpad stood sharply as well, saying, “Hey, me too. Mr. McD, just say the word and we’re taking the ocean to the forest!”

Scrooge made his way in front of the TV. “Now hold on-”

“Uncle Scrooge, we literally just saved the planet like a month ago,” Della groaned. “You can’t just let it _ burn _ -” Scrooge cut her off, pointing a finger inches from her face.

“I said, hold on. Launchpad,” he turned quickly, “Take the Sunchaser. It should have some supplies for this. Della,” he said, cutting her off before she could begin protesting again, “Get your moon friends. I expect you to be ready to take over from Launchpad.”

Della’s face broke out into a determined grin, and she and Launchpad saluted Scrooge before making their way out the door.

Della then sprinted back into the room to kiss her boys’ foreheads. She cupped Dewey and Huey’s cheeks and pulled the three of them close for a quick hug. “I will be right back. I promise,” this last part, she directed towards Donald. 

Donald stood, too. “We’ll help with the evacuations,” He said, looking at Mrs. Beakley, who nodded in turn.

Webby stood as well, but before she could open her beak to speak, Donald said, “Don’t.”

“But-”

“This is a natural disaster,” Mrs. Beakley jumped in. “Not some man made or magic army you can analyze and fight off.”

“Well, actually,” Huey said softly, “If you look into it, these annual fires do have some connection politics and certain capitalistic prac-”

“I was referring to combat training.”

Dewey twisted his head towards Donald, eyes narrowed. “How do we know this isn’t some reverse psychology thing to get us to help fight the fires.”

Donald rubbed his temple before dropping to his knee to join their embrace. “It's not. Like Mrs. B said, there isn’t anything you kids can do.”

“We can set out water for stray animals,” Huey said quietly again. Then he met Donald’s eyes and said, “We could invite the evacuees here.”

Scrooge sighed. “We may nae be in the fire zone, lad, but we aren’t out of the woods. Mainly because the woods are burning not far from her.”

“To the vault then,” Huey said. “It’s by the ocean, well in the safe zone.”

“Uncle Scrooge, you know I don’t like saying this, but Huey’s right. We can’t just leave them homeless,” Dewey said.

Then, quieter than Huey had been, Louie said, “You have no idea what it’s like to lose your home to a fire.”

Della gave Donald a confused and concerned look. “Louie, honey, how would you know that?”

Donald winced. In the time Della had been back, it seems no one had told her that he and Scrooge hadn’t raise the boys together.

“A few years ago, there was a slight mixup with the boat,” he answered vaguely. It had been a whole ridiculously _ fiasco _ , really, full of mistaken documents and a mean spirited debt collector and he tried not to think about it too much since he still felt like a blood vessel would pop just remembering it. “The boys and I had set up camp in the forest for about a week. A week like this. Luckily, Gladstone’s place hadn’t been touched and he let us stay with him.”

Unluckily, the trailer they had been staying in hadn’t survived the fires at all. Most of their stuff had been in storage, but still, it would traumatise anyone to see.

“Why were you-” Della began, then cut herself off. He gave her a look that said,  _ Listen, I can’t explain it, you’ll have to trust me.  _ He looked pointedly back at the TV, and she got the message.

She squeezed Donald and the triplets then returned his look with one that saud said,  _ explain everything when I get back. _

She hugged Scrooge quickly then ran out the room. Donald passed the kids to Scrooge and after Mrs. Beakley had squeezed Webby’s shoulder, they ran out as well.

\--

“No offence. Actually, full offence,” Penny said over the radio, “but your planet kind of sucks if things like  _ this  _ can happen.”

“ _ It’s not always like this _ ,” Della said, somewhat absently, still mulling over what Donald had told her (and what he hadn't).

Penny, as if sensing something was off, didn’t reply.

\--

Officer Gloria Cabrera pulled the police car up to the McDuck vault and helped the evacuees out. From the corner of her eye, she saw the Featherly reporter and her news crew, likely broadcasting about the recently declared safe zone.

Her son’s young friends, Webby and Huey from the McDuck family, were passing out blankets. She was relieved to see they were wearing protective masks- several of the citizens she had picked up had tied shirts and scarves around their heads in an attempt to shield themselves from the smoke, and even with her own mask her lungs had started to burn as she had loaded her car.

She made her way back into the vehicle and pulled out her personal phone, dialing the number she had made the McDuck scientist give her- it was a direct line to the GizmoDuck suit.

“GizmoDuck, give me your status.”

Silence.

“GizmoDuck?”

More silence.  _ No me hagas esto, _ she thought to herself.

“ _ Pollito- _ ”

A different, much younger voice answered, saying, “ _ Hello? _ ”

Gloria made her voice gentle, saying, “Hello, this is Officer Cabrera. Is GizmoDuck there?”

“ _ He just gave me his helmet and told me to call you. _ ”

“It’s it funny how that worked out. Can you give me your name?”

“ _ His hair is the funny thing. And my name is Carl. I’m three. _ ”

_ Secret identity, huh _ , she thought to herself.

“ _ Er, Officer Cabrera _ ,” her son’s voice came through this time, slightly muffled and distant- from outside the helmet, she guessed. He was still lowering his voice in that ridiculous way he did when trying to disguise it as GizmoDuck. “ _ Can you put out a call for a lost Dog, about three years old with a birthmark over his right eye?” _

She flipped on her radio and did just that. Moments later, one of her colleagues radioed back, saying she was driving a man who just gave that description for his missing son.

“He’ll meet us at the vault,” she said.

“ _ Thank you _ ,” Carl’s little voice came through, and Gloria heart twisted.

“ _ Right _ ,” came Fenton’s voice, too far away in that moment, but it would have to do. After all they both had jobs to do. “ _ ...And Officer Cabrera? _ ”

“Yes, GizmoDuck?”

“ _ ...Te quiero. Stay safe while out there. _ ”

“ _ Tú también, Pollito. _ ”

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Huey was standing at the window of her car.

\--

Donald grabbed a hose and pulled it behind him, praying that the Duck Bad Luck would hold off for a little longer.

Last he had seen Mrs. Beakley, she had had at least three unconscious people on her shoulders.

They were near where the temporary trailer had burned.

\--

They were all a little scorched that night. McDuck Manor was still safe, but the smoke surrounding it was just awful.

Calisota was still burning, but for now it had been contained.

Donald and Della shared a look and couldn’t help themselves from laughing until they were crying in earnest at the day they had.

The sky was still a brilliant blood red as the burning sun set.

  
_ Red sky at night _ , Donald thought to himself,  _ Sailor’s delight _ . And he leaned against his sister for support.

**Author's Note:**

> No me hagas esto- "Don't do this to me." might not be super accurate as I turned to google translate. If there's a better way to say this, let me know and I'll go back in and correct it.  
Te quiero- "I love you." It's a very casual, friendly way of saying it, and it literally means "I want you." From what I can tell, it's usually used between friends.  
Tú también- you too
> 
> Tumblr Sunshine-Zenith


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